The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner is a short fantasy novel placed in a fictional Mediterranean-medieval world. We follow a young thief, who is retrieved from prison to steal something for (and with) the King’s Magus. The world is fleshed out in an organic way when you read it – the author takes occasions like passing a certain field or tree to tell us about the general state of the country, agriculture, etc. Evening meals are vehicles to tell us about legends and the general state of mind of people. But looking back, I know only bits and pieces of the world, and that’s not a satisfying feeling.
On my first read, I didn’t enjoy the journey, for the most part: All characters struck me as annoying, and the big ending didn’t hit, so I put the series aside. However, after seeing people praise the series over and over, I decided to give at least the first book another go, and: much better the second time around. Might be a mood thing, or I just needed warming up to the characters. Hoping I’ll get around to the second book after a while!
